Attorney General Henry takes action to defend protections for pregnant workers
May 24, 2024
HARRISBURG — Attorney General Michelle Henry has joined a coalition of 23 Attorneys General in defending a final rule issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) of 2022.
The PWFA is landmark federal legislation that mandates employers provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant and postpartum employees for various conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, including an employee’s termination of a pregnancy.
In an amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Attorney General Henry and the coalition opposed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the EEOC’s rule from taking effect.
“The expansion of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will allow for potentially hundreds of thousands of pregnant workers to have better access to the medical care they need to have a safe and healthy pregnancy,” Attorney General Henry stated. “Giving birth or losing a pregnancy can be extremely taxing on a person’s body and mind, and this legislation allows for more workers to take the time they need to recover.”
Enacted in 2022, the PWFA is the first federal law of its kind. Before its passage, existing laws failed to adequately protect pregnant or postpartum workers, putting many at risk of health complications or job loss, disproportionately affecting low-income workers and workers of color.
In April 2024, a group of states led by Tennessee sued the EEOC in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The lawsuit argues against requiring reasonable accommodations for abortion care and seeks to halt implementing the entire EEOC rule pending litigation outcomes.
In their amicus brief, Attorney General Henry and her colleagues emphasize the importance of the PWFA. They argue that job loss due to pregnancy discrimination can impoverish workers and families at critical times in their lives. The brief also supports including termination of pregnancy – via miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion – under protections for “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” Decades of case law interpreting an identical term in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act support this interpretation by the EEOC.
Joining Attorney General Henry in filing the amicus brief are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island Vermont Washington Wisconsin and D.C.